For the Class of 1950 Reunion Report, we’d like to have a report on post retirement activities for our classmates. This informative report will help classmates and family learn more about all the great achievements of the Class of 1950.
Below is Jack Wagner’s report.
We’re encouraging classmates to prepare a similar report. You can download a Word document of Jack’s report to use as an example to base your report on. Once your report is ready, please email it to Bill DeGraf.
Jack Wagner’s Post Retirement Report
Post Military Retirement Activities of John E. and Louise Wagner
Our post military retirement activities include much travel, post retirement positions, volunteer activities, club memberships, entertaining, additional education and professional registration, and Class of 1950 projects.
Travel began while still in Military Service. in 1972 I started making official trips to Europe as Commander and Director of the US Army Engineer Topographic Laboratories and later as Deputy Director of Army Research. During my active duty I made eight trips to Europe. After active duty I made three more business trips to Europe. and went with my son, John E. Wagner, Jr. to pick up a 1987 BMW at the BMW plant in Munich. Then Louise and I made five more trips to Europe between 1998 and 2005 to see German friends, attend a wedding and visit our son while he was serving in the Peace Corps in Ukraine. John and I made four additional trips through 2019 and were scheduled to go on a Rhine River Cruise in 2020 (now postponed to 2021). After twenty-one European trips and three years assigned in Germany I have visited all major western European countries, (except Hungary), plus Greece and Ukraine and all of their capitals except Oslo, Stockholm, and Budapest.
In 1959 I passed the Professional Engineer Examination in Illinois. When I retired from the army in 1980, I became a Registered Professional Engineer in New York and in 1981 I received a Master of Business Administration degree from George Washington University. I had full time employment at the Academy of Sciences and ANSER Inc until my seventieth birthday
About thirty years ago I tried to encourage my son to take the Certified Public Accounting examination by betting him that I could pass the CPA examination before he could. I did but I had to earn a Master of Accountancy degree before sitting for the examination. After passing the CPA examination I was ready for my part time employment preparing tax returns, from which I retired on my ninetieth birthday.
I finished my academic activities in December 2019 when I received an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Drury University, where I had been a student before entering West Point in 1946.
While in New York City, as Deputy Division Engineer and Acting Division Engineer, we lived on Fort Totten in Bayside on Little Neck Bay. I flew a US flag at our large house at Fort Totten; by the time we returned to Washington it was bleached almost white. Louise joined the Douglaston Women's Club and worked on the 1980 Census. We bought season tickets for the Army Football games at West Point, which we attended from 1980 until after 9/11.
In 1980, Louise and I came down from New York City to attend a class party on Capitol Hill. At the party I asked when we would get instructions for preparing a 30-50 and was told there would be none. I took that answer as a challenge and started my class activities role as editor of three class histories, 30-50, 40-50, and 50-50.
After the deaths of Linc Faurer and Phil Barger I decided that with five academic degrees I should offer to help Ben Lewis with the management of the USMA Class of 1950 Chair of Advanced Technology. Ben Lewis, John Streit and I now share that responsibility. For the last thirty years I have keeper of mortality statistics of the Class of 1950.
Along the way of our life together for sixty-five years one month and 26 days, Louise and I engaged in many volunteer and social activities. Louise was an Army Arlington Lady, member of the Armed Forces Hostess Association, member of the Army Engineer Officers Wives Club and the Army Officers Wives Club of the Greater Washington Area where she served as editor of their newsletter (Back Channels), treasurer, welfare chairman and thrift shop volunteer. Outside of army groups Louise was a member of the Rock Springs Garden Club, Woman's Committee of the National Symphony Orchestra, member of the Arlington and McLean Branches of American Association of University Women, and Bishop's Garden Docent at the National Cathedral, During this time I was Treasurer and Vice President of the University of Illinois Alumni Club, tax preparer and Operations Director for Community Tax Aid., and a Researcher Guidance Volunteer at the Library of Congress. I participated in the first three LOC Book Festivals in 2001, 2002, and 2003.
Upon my return from Vietnam in 1971 my fifteen-year-old son wanted to go to a Redskins game and we learned the ticket were sold out and I applied for season tickets. Twenty years later I got season tickets on the top row of what is now FedEx Field.
For over twenty years we made monthly trips to NYC for shopping and for Louise to attend the Douglaston Woman's Club. Initially we would drive up on Sunday and stay on Governors Island. When the meetings changed to Thursdays, we took an early train to Penn Station and rented a car. While Louise attended her meeting, I had lunch with the then retired North Atlantic Division General Council. We would then drive back to Penn Station for the trip. With monthly trips to Douglaston and up to five football trips to West Point we did a lot of shuttling between Washington and New York. Sometimes we had to decide whether to attend an Army game on Saturday or a Redskins game on Sunday. We had a lot of fun after the Army games driving to Long Island exploring parks and diners.
In addition to our volunteer activities we entertained regularly. From 1982 until 1999 we held a major New Year's Day Reception for more people than could fit in at one time. We stopped in 2000 when we were afraid that Y2K might interfere.
Louise was an avid gardener and we always had many flowers. Sadly, gardening and cooking are not in my skill set.
Since Louise passed in September 2015, I have been slowly downsizing. But after 39 years in one house, downsizing may take the rest of my life or more.